About Donation

Organ, eye and tissue donations bring help, hope, and healing to thousands of people and families each year, changing lives forever. And yet Lifebanc knows there are many common questions about donation, along with misconceptions about what registering as a donor means for you and your family. Let us help you understand the process and the incredible positive difference you can make.

1,623 People

1,623 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Northeast Ohio

418 Lives

Northeast Ohio organ donors saved the lives of 418 people in 2017

85 Lost

Unfortunately, 85 people died waiting for the organ they needed in our area last year

Nearly 40,000

Nearly 40,000 lives were saved and healed by the gifts of Northeast Ohio tissue donors in 2017

Hoping that the 1,600 people in our area get the transplant they need won’t do anything. Only increasing the number of people registered on the Ohio Donor Registry will increase their odds at a second chance at life.

8 Donation Truths

1

Registering to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor saves lives, and it’s the right thing to do. If your closest family member or best friend needed a life-saving transplant, you’d hope for every effort to make it happen, and do anything you could to assist. Every hopeful recipient is that irreplaceable person in someone’s life – and that’s why so many thousands of people are registered donors. Taking five minutes to sign up is a simple action that can mean years of positive difference.

2

In most cases, being a donor will not affect your preferred funeral arrangements. Organs and tissues are recovered by a team of skilled clinicians and in a manner that respects a family or donor’s funeral wishes, including an open-casket viewing.

3

Being an organ, eye and tissue donor does not increase your medical or funeral expenses. Lifebanc takes responsibility for all costs related to the recovery of a donor’s life-saving organs or tissues.

4

A single person can save the lives of eight others in dire need of vital organ transplants by donating kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, pancreas, and intestines. Eight chances for a brighter tomorrow; eight families given new hope.

5

Just one donor can save and heal the lives of as many as 50 people through eye and tissue donation: Skin grafts for burn victims; new heart valves; sight for the blind; mobility for the injured. Dozens of lives can be steered toward better futures and more time with friends and families with the simple decision to donate.

6

Lifebanc provides guidance and emotional support to donor families. Our teams keep them close through the donation process, providing not just updates on donor care, but reassurance, sympathy, and appreciation for their journey in a difficult time.

7

Tissue and cornea donors can save and heal the lives of up to 50 people! Tissue donors save the lives of burn victims through skin grafts, repair faulty heart valves, give sight to the blind, and restore mobility to those who have suffered injuries.

8

Lifebanc provides care for donor families, even after the donation is complete. Lifebanc offers a wide array of grief support services at no cost to the families of donors. Lifebanc also coordinates correspondence between donor families and recipients.